I was on the phone with a friend of mine when I was reminded that my birthday was coming up in a couple of months. I began thinking: What is age anyway? Just a number?

I really had to put a lot of thought into those questions for I am hitting a milestone: the big 6-0. Wow! That almost shocked me to have to admit that! But you know, I don’t feel my age, and, for that matter, I don’t look it either.

Some people have the impression that once they hit a certain number or age milestone, that it’s all over. Life as we know it, at that point, will never be the same.

Think about it: when you’re young, you can hardly wait until you are a teenager. Then it becomes time for you to want to get your driver’s license and get into nightclubs, buy liquor, or go into certain types of rated movies and other things that require you to be of a certain age to gain access to them. For some, it is the desire to become the age to get into the service and get away from home. Perhaps we can hardly wait ‘til we get into college and are able to say, “I finally made it.”

By the time we are in our 20’s and 30’s, we sometimes ask the grandfather time clock to please stop, for we are having way too much fun.

Some think by the time we get into our 40’s, we are so old. I can remember the very day I turned 40. I had to hold my newspaper farther and farther away, and, yes, I had to admit that I now needed glasses.

I think by the time we hit our 50’s, and the realization that we need to decide to either buy our Corvette or to have a fling and a midlife crisis, we finally come to grips and say, “Okay, I am getting older,” or “Okay, I am getting better.”

Now by the time we get into our 60’s, to some we are getting prehistoric…but wait! NOW I still have the choice to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life. I can choose to feel sorry for myself and for all of the things I could have done but didn’t, or I can decide to do the things I have really wanted to do—and do them.

Sometimes my negative thoughts have taken me down the wrong paths. Either I feel guilty and not worthy or there are those instances when I just could not make up my mind and determine if doing something was truly worth the effort, especially since I am now having physical challenges that I didn’t have to deal with earlier in my life.

So now that I’ve hit this milestone, I have finally decided that, for me, age bears no meaning.

For some, we take age to mean it is the end. For others, like me, it is just the beginning.

It is our choice, really, as to how we want to live. I am not talking about the material things. It is really nice to have fancy things, but sometimes, once you have them, you either tire of them or you just say, “What’s next?”

Instead, what I am talking about are all of those things that are truly meaningful to you right now. Think about all the things that make you laugh and what comforts you in times of need.

How about those of us who live alone? It is great to enjoy our solitude, but it is also great to go outside of oneself and what is familiar to you in order to visit new places and make new friends or acquaintances.

I decided I had to change my mind and how I looked at life, or else I was going to become this person that no one would want to be around anymore because of my own feelings of remorse.

So I asked myself this pivotal question: What did I have to be thankful for? It came to me that I was thankful to be healthy enough to enjoy this very moment while expressing myself to you.

Life is so short, yet it seems to be going full speed—especially the older I get. But you know what? I would not have it any other way, for the wisdom that I have gained through all of the experiences I have had, including the good and bad ones, have made me who I am today. My experiences have made me appreciate my world, including the ones with all of the patients who have touched my spirit and life and the ones with all of my friends who have put up with me in good times and bad.

Mostly now, I am grateful for all of you whom I have yet to meet.

Great health and enjoyment of life,

Dr. Christina

Posted By: doctorc

Tags: age age is just a number alone comfort experience laughter life live milestone old age older spirit time wisom world

Comments: 1

One comment on “Age Is Just A Number”

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